Pointing the Way: 1945

Are these intrepid young students part of the war effort? Far from it. Fencing was an elective that fulfilled their activities requirement. Less common now, fencing has a long history as a school sport.

Another institution with a long history is the Bouvé College of Health Sciences. Bouvé-Boston School of Physical Education—where this fencing practice took place—was created in 1930 after the merger of the Bouvé School and the Boston School of Physical Education. Bouvé-Boston trained young women for the physical education field.

Bouvé-Boston became part of Northeastern in 1964. Its new name, Boston-Bouvé College, signaled its new expansion in the university’s health education offerings: health, physical education, recreation, and physical therapy programs were added.

In 1962, Northeastern’s College of Pharmacy began its first-of-a-kind, two-year, cooperative education program, leading to a master’s degree. Two years later, Northeastern’s College of Nursing was formed; then, as now, students performed co-ops at the Beth Israel and Massachusetts General hospitals. Other research and graduate programs were also launched in 1964.

By 1992, Boston-Bouvé and the College of Pharmacy had morphed into the Bouvé College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. This college merged with the College of Nursing in 1999 to become Northeastern’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences.

The School of Nursing celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014—a reminder that the university’s healthcare education is still on target.